It’s an adventure around the rim when our bigs get the ball. I think Buie would have another 50 plus career assists if he played with Pardon for a couple of seasons. It’s tough when you need to make sure your pass leads to an uncontested shot. Offense aside, our bigs need to rebound better. Nicholson should be good for 6 a game, even in limited minutes, with at least a couple of offensive rebounds. That’s the easiest way for him to get points. It was refreshing to see Hunger with a put back. He’s limited physically and a little undersized, but he has good footwork and nice moves around the basket. Preston fouled me while I was typing this.
Our Bigs
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Offensely Hunger is the best bet. Too many straight line drives on defense when he is out there.
But the potential is there.
But the potential is there.
Nicholson looks like he should be so much stronger than he actually plays. Last night, he got a nice feed at the rim and let a little guard block his shot on the way up. He really should have the strength to power through that stuff. It's a bit frustrating. He did make a non-dunk layup though at one point. That was good to see.
Agreed on both points. I do feel like his play has been trending up. He had several blocks yesterday. And the layup was encouraging. He is never going to be Ryan Young around the basket but anything he can provide is huge for the offense. With all the focus on Boo, the opportunities to get him the ball down low are there. They just can’t all be dunks.
It's just amazing to me that he hasn't developed a simple little jump hook close to the basket. For someone his height that's such an easy shot.
I like our bigs.
Preston is alright - provides depth, bulk, some rebounding and heady defense. Good guy to have on the roster.
Not sure why anybody thinks Hunger has difficulty finishing at the rim.
He has played pretty well and has significant upside. (Airball 3 aside) Not a bad defender. Good energy.
Will be this year's "surprise" like Martinelli was last year, only a little sooner.
I agree that Nicholson's lack of development over the summer is very disappointing.
If you watch the NU offense, you can see that it is different this season. Nicholson is no longer constantly running all over the court setting ball screens. We are using other players to set some of the ball screens (Yay) but also relying on them less for Buie. Nicholson and others are screening away from the ball to try to free up shooters or get backdoor cuts (YAY). Unfortunately when he isn't doing those things, now Nicholson just stands down by the basket, which should be good, but Matt doesn't appear to know how to a) get himself in scoring position to receive a pass and b) rarely fights or moves to get in good rebounding position. Its almost as if he's saying "Well, he should make that shot, why bother?" He is easily boxed out by 6'4" guards. Part of this is coaching and technique, of course, but much of it is Nicholson himself. Would like to see him get mad once.
Preston is alright - provides depth, bulk, some rebounding and heady defense. Good guy to have on the roster.
Not sure why anybody thinks Hunger has difficulty finishing at the rim.
He has played pretty well and has significant upside. (Airball 3 aside) Not a bad defender. Good energy.
Will be this year's "surprise" like Martinelli was last year, only a little sooner.
I agree that Nicholson's lack of development over the summer is very disappointing.
If you watch the NU offense, you can see that it is different this season. Nicholson is no longer constantly running all over the court setting ball screens. We are using other players to set some of the ball screens (Yay) but also relying on them less for Buie. Nicholson and others are screening away from the ball to try to free up shooters or get backdoor cuts (YAY). Unfortunately when he isn't doing those things, now Nicholson just stands down by the basket, which should be good, but Matt doesn't appear to know how to a) get himself in scoring position to receive a pass and b) rarely fights or moves to get in good rebounding position. Its almost as if he's saying "Well, he should make that shot, why bother?" He is easily boxed out by 6'4" guards. Part of this is coaching and technique, of course, but much of it is Nicholson himself. Would like to see him get mad once.
The biggest factors in rebounding are anticipation and desire. Matt should get 4 points a game just off of offensive rebounds. He’s usually the biggest guy on the court. And he’s usually around the basket. I don’t think he’s lazy. He gives good effort on defense. It’s kind of like Beran. Neither guy ever figured out offensive rebounding. And they both played with the master, Ryan Young.
rebounding, specially offensive rebounding is position and quickness and anticipation...not sure how quick footed Nicholson is...anyone know why Preston got no minutes in the Chicago St. game ? HUnger got 15 minutes last night...looks like he is moving up the ladder
Nobody is ever going to accuse Young of being quick. But he has good hands and great anticipation and positioning.
Good take. I am also disappointed that Nicholson didn't develop a post move during the off-season. I recognize that CCC's offensive scheme isn't heavy on low-post plays, but it would be nice to have a half-court set option that would allow us to leverage MN's size advantage against smaller teams, beyond just the "pick-and-roll/lob-for-a-dunk" play. I was really hoping that he would develop a low post move/baby hook in the paint to add to his limited scoring repertoire.
Honestly, I would be happy with a head fake and a two handed layup. A little deception would go a long way. He gets his layups blocked too often by smaller players. He might be rushing his shot. He’s a strong dude and a pretty good athlete for his size. Hold on to the ball and and go up strong.
The way I see it, as of today, the strengths and weaknesses of the bigs are as follows.
Starting with Nicholson, his post defense is a remarkable asset. offers outstanding size, strength, and positioning when defending. Regrettably, his mobility has noticeably diminished. In the previous season, he was quite agile for a player of his size, but now he can labeled as just not being particularly slow. He has never possessed or developed soft hands or a delicate touch around the basket. This deficiency is challenging to improve upon. The lack of touch, is why we do not witness the desired level of aggressiveness from him against teams with weaker interior defense. Considering his physique, strength, and athleticism, he has the potential to contribute more offensively. Yet, he lacks confidence in his offensive abilities, which limits his scoring options outside of wide open dunks. As a big man, he needs to attack the basket aggressively and forcefully, either by dunking or drawing fouls. He does not have the ability to score with his back to basket. He doesn’t have the touch or the confidence offensively to pull that off. On the other hand, he undeniably stands out as our best defensive option at the center position. He also has improved upon his passing ability significantly this season. If he can reduce his fouls and secure more rebounds, this team has the potential to achieve great success.
Preston doesn't excel defensively against strong traditional big men, but he becomes our top defensive option at the 5 position when playing against smaller and more agile teams. He has a better ability to finish at the rim compared to MN, although the bar for that is quite low. He is quite nimble for a center and helps create space for our guards to make cuts, but he isn't a significant scoring threat himself. He tends to commit fouls quite frequently. Nonetheless, in my opinion, he is a valuable addition to our team for depth purposes. However, he is not the solution when it comes to playing a significant number of minutes. He is a decent role player and brings good energy. Defensively, he struggles against bigger teams but offers a respectable defensive presence against smaller opponents.
Hunger is head and shoulders above everyone else when it comes to offense. He has good touch around the rim and runs hard on the court. He lacks the mobility of Preston or the size of Nicholson. He doesn't contribute much defensively against traditional big men at the moment. He isn't quick enough to guard agile big men and lacks the proper footwork to compensate for it. In my opinion, his defensive abilities against traditional bigs are similar to Preston's, but he has more potential in that area. He needs to improve his 3-point shooting accuracy, otherwise, he should refrain from taking those shots. If he positioned himself better on offense, he would receive more passes from Buie and has the ability to convert those opportunities into points, unlike our other big men. I appreciate his potential and hope he develops quickly, but I believe he is still 1-2 years away from being a starting caliber big man. A fully healthy offseason will be beneficial for his progress. Hopefully, he continues to earn more playing time. He needs to improve his defense so that he can receive more minutes since he is the only scoring threat at the 5 position on our roster. He lacks the shooting efficiency from beyond the arc to stretch the floor as a power forward, and he doesn't possess the mobility to effectively defend that position this season. Personally, I would prefer to allocate more minutes to Berry, Langborg, Barnhizer, and Martinelli rather than having any two of our centers on the court at the same time.
Starting with Nicholson, his post defense is a remarkable asset. offers outstanding size, strength, and positioning when defending. Regrettably, his mobility has noticeably diminished. In the previous season, he was quite agile for a player of his size, but now he can labeled as just not being particularly slow. He has never possessed or developed soft hands or a delicate touch around the basket. This deficiency is challenging to improve upon. The lack of touch, is why we do not witness the desired level of aggressiveness from him against teams with weaker interior defense. Considering his physique, strength, and athleticism, he has the potential to contribute more offensively. Yet, he lacks confidence in his offensive abilities, which limits his scoring options outside of wide open dunks. As a big man, he needs to attack the basket aggressively and forcefully, either by dunking or drawing fouls. He does not have the ability to score with his back to basket. He doesn’t have the touch or the confidence offensively to pull that off. On the other hand, he undeniably stands out as our best defensive option at the center position. He also has improved upon his passing ability significantly this season. If he can reduce his fouls and secure more rebounds, this team has the potential to achieve great success.
Preston doesn't excel defensively against strong traditional big men, but he becomes our top defensive option at the 5 position when playing against smaller and more agile teams. He has a better ability to finish at the rim compared to MN, although the bar for that is quite low. He is quite nimble for a center and helps create space for our guards to make cuts, but he isn't a significant scoring threat himself. He tends to commit fouls quite frequently. Nonetheless, in my opinion, he is a valuable addition to our team for depth purposes. However, he is not the solution when it comes to playing a significant number of minutes. He is a decent role player and brings good energy. Defensively, he struggles against bigger teams but offers a respectable defensive presence against smaller opponents.
Hunger is head and shoulders above everyone else when it comes to offense. He has good touch around the rim and runs hard on the court. He lacks the mobility of Preston or the size of Nicholson. He doesn't contribute much defensively against traditional big men at the moment. He isn't quick enough to guard agile big men and lacks the proper footwork to compensate for it. In my opinion, his defensive abilities against traditional bigs are similar to Preston's, but he has more potential in that area. He needs to improve his 3-point shooting accuracy, otherwise, he should refrain from taking those shots. If he positioned himself better on offense, he would receive more passes from Buie and has the ability to convert those opportunities into points, unlike our other big men. I appreciate his potential and hope he develops quickly, but I believe he is still 1-2 years away from being a starting caliber big man. A fully healthy offseason will be beneficial for his progress. Hopefully, he continues to earn more playing time. He needs to improve his defense so that he can receive more minutes since he is the only scoring threat at the 5 position on our roster. He lacks the shooting efficiency from beyond the arc to stretch the floor as a power forward, and he doesn't possess the mobility to effectively defend that position this season. Personally, I would prefer to allocate more minutes to Berry, Langborg, Barnhizer, and Martinelli rather than having any two of our centers on the court at the same time.
I don't think we have the roster depth to do that.
if we look at the roster and say "we have 3 centers" and 5 guys to play the other 4 positions....
If any of those 5 non-centers gets hurt, we don't have any effective subs (at present).
We can hope Clayton improves or Mullins improves a lot. (that would help a lot, but hope is not a strategy)
Or we can look at Hunger as a backup power forward and try to get him some minutes in that role.
Not because it is ideal, but because it is necessary.
I don't think our defense, at least against the smaller teams we've been playing, could survive have Hunger out there at the same time as Matt/Preston for any meaningful minutes. Maybe that will change in conference games.
I do worry that we have 5 guys running through 4 positions. I just worry they are going to get worn down, but then I'm not a 20-something year old kid anymore.
Plenty of good teams have a 7 man rotation. Considering that there are 9 media timeouts per game at 2 and a half minutes each, plus 4 timeouts for each team at 30-60 seconds long, plus any extra stoppages for reviews or when players foul out, there's plenty of recovery time for our guys.
Hunger can shoot from beyond 6 feet!
The way I see it, Preston is quick enough to guard a legitimate power forward in the Big Ten, but he can't really play that position on offense because he has no range. Hunger may be less quick, but has much better offensive skills.
So Preston and Hunger has some potential as an alternative lineup, depending on the opponent.
Nicholson and Preston cannot go out there together. Too limited.
Nicholson and Hunger? Matt Painter would try that, but Chris Collins is all about the guards. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I do wish Collins would try it, but I know he cannot bring himself to do so.
